Mother's Remorse

I have a confession.
I'm a girly-girl.  I always have been.  Most likely always will be.
I have a daughter.
She is not a girly-girl.  That's been hard for me to relate to.
But she has taught me a lot.

She is more confident in who she is than what she wears.
(Designer clothes?  Puh-leeze.)

She is fine with wearing no makeup.
(Makeup?  Take it or leave it.  Whatever.)

She has no desire to move from glasses to contacts.
(Too much trouble.)

She is the most talented young woman I know.
(Art: yup; Music: check; Sciences: no prob.)

She also has a kind heart and is so sweet with children
(She is always available for babysitting...hint, hint.)

She is my only daughter and I love her dearly.

But recently, I accidentally broke her heart and in the process, mine too.
I had posted something on FaceBook to one of my sisters about missing them and doing girly stuff with them soon.
She had a difficult weekend socially(which I was unaware of) and responded to my post by telling me on FaceBook that she was sorry that she wasn't a girly-girl and when she goes to college in the fall, I'll be able to do all that girly stuff that we never do.

I. Was. Floored.

My beautiful, smart, witty, kind, fun daughter felt that she was a disappointment to me.

We cried together and I tried to help her understand I NEVER meant to hurt her with that comment, that I just miss my sisters, and I am so proud to be her Momma.

I also felt I had somehow missed the mark in raising her.

Raising a girl is so different from a boy (aside from the obvious reasons).

How do you teach her that smart is forever?  That beauty goes away?

The mixed messages being sent our way write the outward message is that girls should be smart, but they show with graphics that they also need to be pretty at the same time or they aren't worth anything.
Her divine worth, her value to me and to her Heavenly Father will never be measured in how long her hair is, if her skin is porcelain perfect, if her eyebrows are shaped just so.

But how do I do it?  The world is surely making it hard.

I think for the most part, that she has (thankfully) been strong enough on her own to not be bogged down by my stupidity and the world's version of worth.  I also know she is powerful and capable of amazing things.  I just have to remind myself to take the lead from her.
Beauty fades.  Smart is forever.